President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, announced the winner to huge cheers from the Tokyo contingent

Here in Buenos Aires they showed they had learned the key lesson from that campaign - that presenting a sound and safe technical bid wouldn't be enough. They also had to inspire.

Their slick presentation on Saturday did just that, emphasising the economic and political strengths [not enjoyed by their rivals Madrid and Istanbul] but at the same time setting out an ambitious and exciting vision for the 2020 Games.

Although the presence of Princess Hisako charmed the members of the International Olympic Committee, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the star turn.

There is no doubt that after all the problems the IOC has been experiencing in Sochi and Rio, they were looking for a safe pair of hands. Tokyo's bid was ranked number one in the technical assessment carried out by the IOC evaluation commission in June.

Add to that the commercial allure of Japan's well-established sports and media market and it's easy to see why they were such a popular choice.

Olympic hosts since 1972

1972:
Munich, West Germany

1976:
Montreal, Canada

1980:
Moscow, Soviet Union

1984:
Los Angeles, US

1988:
Seoul, South Korea

1992:
Barcelona, Spain

1996:
Atlanta, US

2000:
Sydney, Australia

2004:
Athens, Greece

2008:
Beijing, China

2012:
London, UK

2016:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2020:
Tokyo, Japan

There was also a feeling that this was Asia's turn. By the time the Games come to Tokyo it will have been 12 years since the Beijing Olympics.

The support of the influential Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, also helped. An IOC member since 1992, he is chairman of the powerful Association of National Olympic Committees and the Olympic council of Asia.

His influence in the IOC is said to be growing all the time - his support is thought to be one of the main reasons why the German Thomas Bach is favourite to become the new IOC president next Tuesday.

And he made a very public appearance at the Tokyo 2020 victory party at the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires, hugging senior members of the bid team and posing with them for pictures.

When asked why Tokyo had won he would only say: "It was the will of the house and you have to respect the will of the house."

It is hard to know just how significant the Sheikh's support for Tokyo was. But as one trained IOC observer said, "it's much better to have him on your team working for you than on the outside working against you."

Tokyo was also helped by Madrid's failure to convince the IOC that the Spanish economy was ready for the demands of staging the Olympics. They were unable to escape from the shadow of the Eurozone crisis which has left Spain with huge debts.

By slashing the budget for the Games to under $2billion they were doing the right thing by the Spanish people, but they were limiting their ability to excite the IOC.

Madrid were also hampered by the fact that some major European cities are lining up for Olympic bids in 2024 - in particular Paris and Rome. A number of European IOC members wanted to avoid ruining their chances by electing Madrid now.

As for Istanbul, for so long the front runner, they couldn't recover from the damage caused by the recent street protests and
doping scandals.

Turkey's appeal was that it could unite two continents - Europe and Asia. They failed to win enough support in either.

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Comments

I'm not so sure you could say that it was 'Asia's turn', any more than it would have been North America's turn' or 'Asia Minor's turn'.

You would have to say that New York would have to be in with a great shout if they could get their act together and put their global welcoming hat on. If you could make America less belligerent through hosting a games, then what a world legacy that would be.

I believe people is looking at the wrong issue. The problem of Japan is not Fukushima; the problem is its colossal debt. Japanese debt is more than 15% of world's GDP!! And Olympics will make it even worst

It will definitively burst before 2020, and when that happen will create another global financial crisis (and looking at the sheer size of the debt worse than the 2008 one)...

Not sure Japan will be safe from the Fukushima leak. They never told their people that the situation is under control. Even within the Japan, they are not sure why their PM have said that the situation is under control. As far as I know, the leaking was never stopped since the first day and it's getting worse every day. Chernobyl is still empty. Tokyo shouldn't host even after 7yrs for safety sake

As Spaniard I feel tremedously relieved and happy that Madrid has not been granted with the Games. The whole project was a bid from a bunch of incompetent (and not few of them corrupted) businessmen and politicians trying to buy some legitimacy / domestic votes and "old-fashion" cash. Then again, appalling the poor role played by the Spanish media.

13...when did the BBC resort to the American spelling. All of my life it has been Tokio not Tokyo...------Going by news archives 'Tokio' was more common than 'Tokyo' in the US, although both were used, and then replaced by it around the 2nd WW, maybe lasting a little longer in this country (into the 60s).

tokyo is the place where the east meets west . the fusion of eastern culture and the development of the western world is all there . ===Probably best to avoid words like 'fusion', in the circumstances. Other than that, nice post.

you all people making fun or criticising about tokyo must visit the place one. the vision they have got and their patience , determination , respect to others , development of the city all goes hand in hand. tokyo is the place where the east meets west . the fusion of eastern culture and the development of the western world is all there . i m in no doubt tokyo is the right place chosen by ioc .

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